A blow for the Conservatives as a YouGov poll calls into question their image as the party that can be trusted with law and order

The Tories’ reputation for being tough on crime is being questioned by the
public who believe that the Labour government was more effective at reducing
offending than the coalition.

A YouGov poll for The Sunday Times shows that only 9% of people believe the
government is tougher on crime than its predecessor. Some 30% think David
Cameron’s government is less tough on crime than Labour, while 43% say the
two are much the same.

The findings will come as a blow to Cameron, whose party has traditionally
been trusted more on law and order issues than both Labour and the Liberal
Democrats.

The poll, of 2,691 adults, coincided with the row over plans by Ken Clarke,
the justice secretary, to give suspected rapists reduced sentences if they
pleaded guilty early.

According to YouGov, 62% of people opposed the idea of reducing sentences by
as much as 50% for early pleas,